Hearts In Decay
by tmzjk10
Summary: Rosalie Dixon, a fourteen year old girl raised in a small town in Georgia with her dad, Daryl and her uncle, Merle. She was blessed with her momma's looks and southern charm but cursed with her daddy's short temper . Now, her momma always tried to raise her to be a lady. But her daddy won, he raised a lady who isn't afraid to get a little dirty and who has a hell of a shot.
1. Chapter 1

Epilogue Months before.

The sound of the school bell ringing echoed through the building, signaling that the school day was officially over. Her classmates around her raced to the opened classroom door, ready to begin their weekend.

Rosalie was one of the last students out the door, stopping by her locker to switch out her books and put the ones she needed in her bag. Her bag was slung over her shoulders, allowing her to push open the school's door with much ease. Her hand reached into her bag, pulling out a pair of sunglasses. Slipping them on as she stepped into the bright sunlight. She slipped by a few stray students, the soles of her sandles smacking against the cement sidewalk as she rounded the corner.

" Hey Rosalie!" A female voice called, causing her head turn.

"I thought you had track practice after school?" Rosalie asked her best friend, who only shrugged her shoulders in return.

"Our coach got put in the hospital, apparently she caught that virus that's been going around" Rebecca explained, pushing a dark brown strand of hair away from her face

. "You comin' to my house?"

"Just till my parents get home" Rebecca answered, walking to Rosalie's side, bumping into her playfully.

"Was that necessary?" Rosalie rolled her eyes before pulling out her cell phone, sending a quick text to her dad. Assuring him that she was safe.

"Yes, yes it was" Rebecca joked, a smile forming on her lips. "Oh I almost forgot!" Rebecca squealed, "did you hear what happened between Jake and Bailey today?"

"No, wha-"

A loud scream rang through the air, cutting off what Rosalie was going to say.

The girls' heads snapped towards the source of the scream, nearly letting out screams of their own as they took in the scene before them. There were at least three of them surrounding the middle-aged woman, all of them reaching for her with their bloody fingers. Their clothes were torn, skin covered in a mixture of blood and dirt. One of them finally grabbed her, sinking its teeth into her pale skin. The woman screamed again, shoving the thing off of her before running right past us. Leading the three living things towards the two girls.

"Run!" Rosalie yelled, grabbing Rebecca's arm before the two of them broke into a things following behind them at a fast-walking pace. "This way" Rosalie said, the two of them rounding the corner.

Rebecca pulled her arm out of Rosalie's grasp, allowing the two girls to pick up their pace. Rosalie turned her head, checking to see if the three beasts were still behind them. Thankfully, they weren't which allowed the two girls to stop running and catch their breath.

"What were those things?" Rebecca panted, stretching her arms over her head, letting more air get to her lungs.

"They were people," Rosalie began "they just didn't look alive, like they were dead or something"

"So like zombies?" Rosalie nodded, before standing straight up. "Come on, we better get to my house before we run into more of them" Rosalie said.

The two girls raced towards Rosalie's house, throwing the front d door open once they arrived.

"Dad!" Rosalie yelled, searching frantically for her father.

She let out a sigh of relief once she caught sight of him and Uncle Merle packing stuff into duffel bags. Daryl turned around, taking in his daughter's appearance. Flushed cheeks, heavy breathing, and wide blue eyes. Before he could question what was wrong or explain to her the situation they were in, Rosalie threw herself against him. Causing him to stumble backwards as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"T-There were these things, humans but they were tryin' to eat t-this lady" Rebecca sobbed, tears running from her brown eyes. "She ran, and t-they went after us"

Daryl's eyes widened, his head turning to look at his older brother.

"I'll start puttin' our things in the car" Merle said, zipping up a duffel bag before walking towards the front door.

Rosalie pulled her head away from her dad's chest, peering up at him with her big blue eyes. "What's goin' on?"

"It's a virus, that's spreading when people get bit." Daryl explained, "People are coming back to life"

Rosalie's lips parted, a small sob escaping her throat.

"This is it," Daryl spoke, "The world is finally goin' to shit.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Hey guys, hope you enjoy this chapter! Make sure to leave reviews and tell me what you think! :)

Rosalie's Outfit for this chapter:

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**Present Time.**

**Rosalie's P.O.V**

"Get up Rosalie, we have things to do today" Rebecca said, giving me a rough shake.

"Go away" I groaned, batting her hands away.

"If you don't get up in the next minute or two I'm going to call Merle in here" Rebecca threatened, "and we both know what happened last time"

"Fine" I shoved my blankets back before standing up, stretching out my sore limbs. "Now get out so I can get dressed"

"Well, someone's grouchy this morning" Rebecca laughed, unzipping the tent before disappearing outside.

I peeled off my pajamas, tossing the dirty clothes in a pile on the floor of the tent.

I pulled on a coral colored crop top that rested an inch or so above my belly button and a pair of denim shorts. I grabbed my old hairbrush out of a basket and brushed out whatever tangles that had formed over night before pulling my hair into a ponytail.

After putting on my old black Converse I unzipped the tent, stepping out into the bright morning light.

My dad and Rebecca were sitting around our small firepit , eating breakfast. While my Uncle Merle was sitting by himself, cleaning off his weapons from yesterday's hunt.

"Morning sunshine" Rebecca sang happily, giving me a wide grin.

"Mornin'" I replied, seating myself between Rebecca and my dad. "You goin' on the run today?" I asked, looking at my dad.

"Nah, think I'm goin' to go huntin' again" My dad answered, putting his empty plate of food on the ground.

"Well be careful, and try not to kill anyone while you're out there, you know like Uncle Merle did" I said teasingly, looking at my uncle who gave simple gave me an annoyed glare and a roll of his blue eyes.

"Maybe you shouldn't sneak up on people" Merle snapped.

"I didn't mean to, I thought you would've heard me." I explained, before adding, "Maybe it's just your old age, can't hear like you used to. You should probably find some hearin' aid while you're in town today"

My dad let out a small laugh, a smile forming acrossed his rough looking features. Uncle Merle let out an annoyed sigh, grabbing a handful of dirt and flinging it at me. Earning squeals from both Rebecca and I.

"Your kid is an asshole" Merle said, looking at my dad.

"She didn't get that from me, that was all you. Told you teasing her as a kid would come back to bite you in the ass." My dad stated.

"Yea, yea" Merle mumbled, "I better get going, wouldn't want them to leave without me" He stood up, shoving his knife in his back pocket.

"That's probably what they're planning to do" I said, earning a glare from him, "Just kidding" I sang, standing up. Offering my uncle a farewell hug. He sighed, giving me a small hug before turning to walk away.

"Hey, if you don't come back does that mean I get to have the bigger tent?" I yelled.

"Sure, whatever you want kid"

"Bye Uncle Merle" I yelled behind him, earning a small wave.

"Well, I'm goin' to head out too. You two stay in this camp, got it?" My dad slung his crossbow over his shoulder, putting his knife in his back pocket.

"Yes sir" Rebecca and I said in simultaneously, both of us flashing him innocent smiles.

"Alright, be good and stay out of trouble" He said, pointing a finger in our direction.

"Us? Get in trouble?"

"You know what I mean" He smiled, pressing his lips to the top of my head.

"Bye dad" I waved, watching him disappear into the woods.

"So watcha' wanna do?" Rebecca asked.

"Want to go get Carl and Sophia and go fishin'?" I suggested.

"Sure" She answered, standing up, "Go grab your bow"

I crossed my arms acrossed my chest, lifting an eyebrow at her.

"What? I thought it would be a good idea to go bowfishing" She shrugged her shoulders, biting at her nails.

"If I were to try bowfishin' with all of you guys in that small boat, someone would lose an eye" I pushed myself out of my chair, grabbing the fishing pole that was leaning against a nearby tree.

After grabbing the bucket of worms and handing it to Rebecca, I put all the stuff we would need in a small bag. Including a few granola bars, just in case one of us gets hungry.

"Worms are so gross" Rebecca groaned, holding the bucket away from her body.

"And you want to go fishin'?" I questioned.

"Whatever we can do to pass the time" She responded.

_Well this should be an interesting fishing trip._

* * *

**After The Fishing Trip.**

**Rosalie's P.O.V**

The fishing trip was a total waste of time. Sophia was scared of the fish, Carl wouldn't shut up and Rebecca tipped the boat over. Which would explain why I'm soaked head to toe, walking through the camp with just a bucket of drowned worms.

Fun right?

Well it was fun while we were in the water, splashing about and dunking each other but that was until Ed came and basically screamed at us. Calling us idiots and such.

To be honest, I don't like Ed. He's an asshole who doesn't deserve Carol or Sophia. They would be so much better off without him. They should be somewhere where they are appreciated, not beaten.

The sound of a loud car alarm cut me out of my thoughts, causing me to drop the bucket and run towards the end of the camp. To wherever that sound was coming from.

"What's goin' on?" I asked, looking around at my fellow camp members.

"Stolen car" Dale announced, lower his binoculars away from his face.

A red sports car came flying up, a loud sound coming from up. Forcing all over to cover our ears to prevent any serious hearing loss.

It was Glenn who stepped out of the car, a proud smile spread across his face.

Shane started to yell at him, words that I couldn't hear or understand.

It was Jim who popped the hood, somehow stopping the loud noise from going on any longer.

"What were you thinking?" Shane asked Glenn in disbelief.

The rest of the conversation went unheard by me, as I was standing to far away to hear what they were saying. Not that I was paying attention anyway.

"Where's Andrea? Is Andrea ok?" Amy questioned, getting close to Glenn.

"Yes!" Glenn cried, "Everyone is fine, they're ok." Glenn looked nervously at me before whispering something to them. Shane and Dale looked back at me, before exchanging nervous glances.

Another vehicle pulled up, this time a rather large truck. A door was opened, feet hit the ground and Amy let out a loud, grateful cry before yelling Andrea's name.

Morales's kids, Eliza and Louis, rushed to give him a hug. Along with his wife Miranda, who let out a sigh of relief. Placing kisses acrossed her husband's cheeks.

Then there was Carl and Lori. Carl was in tears at the sight of Morales being reunited with his family. It made him miss his dad, Rick. Lori was doing her best at comforting him, tears threatening to spill out of her own eyes.

"How did you guys get out of there?" Shane asked, looking at Morales.

"New guy, used to be a cop. Like you" Morales responded, looking back at an unknown figure.

"Dad!" Carl yelled, racing towards him. Rick took a step back, obviously shocked before racing towards his son. Bringing him in for a tight hug.

Lori's eyes widened before enjoyed in on her husband's embrace, clinging tightly to him.

I looked over at Rebecca, watching as she brought her lip between her teeth, looking at her feet as she shuffled them.

I gently nudged her with my shoulder, mouthing "You ok?". Rebecca nodded her head, giving me an assuring smile.

"Uh Rosalie, I think we need to have a talk with you" Shane said, the rest of the group looking over at me.

That's when I noticed who hadn't come back, it explained why insults and demands weren't being thrown around.

Uncle Merle hadn't come back...

"Is he dead?" I asked, looking at the ground.

"He wasn't when we left" T-Dog said.

"You left him there?!" I screeched, getting ready to throw myself at him. Only to be stopped by Shane.

"He was putting us in danger Rosalie, if we hadn't of done what we did we all would've been dead." Andrea spoke up.

"You get it now? I think we all know that Merle has a hard time playing well with others" Shane spoke.

I nodded in return, sinking my teeth into my bottom as a thought ran through my mind.

"Hey guys?" The rest of the groups turned to look at me, "What are we goin' to tell my dad when he gets back tomorrow mornin'?"

Everyone turned to look at each other, their eyes widened.

"We hadn't thought about that yet but we'll think of something"

_Yep, we're totally screwed.._

* * *

**That Night.**

**Carl's P.O.V**

We all sat gathered around the campfire, listening intently as my dad began to tell his story.

Well everyone else was listening intently but I wasn't. My attention was drawn to the blonde laying her head on my shoulder.

She wasn't looking back at me though, Rosalie was paying attention to my dad and what he was saying. It was like she was somewhat mesmerized by the story.

After my dad was done telling his adventure and how he had gotten here, Dale spoke up, questioning what all of them were dreading to think about.

"So had anyone thought of how we're going to tell Daryl about Merle?" Dale asked.

"Well we could lie" Amy suggested.

"Or we could tell the truth. Merle had put us all in danger and if it wasn't for your husband," Andrea motioned towards Lori and Rick, "He would've gotten us killed"

"I should be the one to tell him. I was the one that dropped the key" T-Dog said, a guilty look forming acrossed his face.

"No offense or anything, but I think it might sound better coming from a white guy" Glenn said.

"I could tell him" Rosalie said, "I mean I am his daughter, he might take it a bit better"

"Well no matter how we do it all I know is that we're going to have our hands full when Daryl gets back from

his hunt tomorrow"

"Well, I'm going to go to bed" Rosalie announced, obviously ignoring what Dale had said.

"I'll walk you to your tent" I said, standing up before offering her my hand.

"Dixon is still alive" T-Dog blurted.

"What? How do you know?" Rosalie asked.

"I locked the door before we left, only around 5 or 6 geeks can get in there at a time. That's not enough to break it. Not that chain, not that lock" T-Dog explained.

Rosalie let out a sigh of relief, giving T-Dog what seemed to be a grateful yet hopeful smile.

Rosalie find grasped a hold of my outstretched hand, using it to pull herself up.

"Well I'm goin' to bed" She repeated, "Night guys"

A chorus of good nights came from around the group. I put my hand at the lower part of her back. Of course, when I glanced around the group one last time I sure didn't miss the wink that Rebecca gave me. Along with the wiggle of her eyebrows.

I simply rolled my eyes, nudging Rosalie forward. We started walking, guiding ourselves through the darkness of the camp.

"Wait wait" Rosalie gushed, stopping so she could lift up her foot.

"What is it?" I asked.

"My foot hurts" She whined, attempting to sooth her pain through the sole of her shoe.

"Here, hop on" I crouched down in front of her, signaling for her to climb on my back.

Rosalie smiled, before climbing on my back. Her legs wrapping themselves around my waist, her hands going loosely around my neck. My hands cupped the underneath of her thighs, making sure that she wouldn't fall off.

"You know, you're a lot heavier than you look"

"Looks can be deceiving" She said simply.

When we walked passed the Peletier's, Rosalie gave Sophia a small smile and a friendly wave. Though, as soon as Ed glanced our way Rosalie put her hand down, wrapping it securely around my neck.

"Such a sad excuse for a human being" She muttered.

We walked a few more minutes in silence, Rosalie's head once again fallen on my shoulder. Showing that she was indeed tired.

"Stop for a second" Rosalie demanded.

My feet came to a complete stop. Although I was completely sure what she was doing. I soon got the assumption that she was reaching for something, when one of her hands was raised up and her legs tightened around my waist.

I jumped a little when her hand appeared in front of my face, a glowing firefly resting on one of her fingers. I watched as it spread its wings before coming to rest on my nose.

Rosalie laughed as I went cross-eyed, trying to look at the creature resting on my nose.

And soon enough it spread its wings once again, this time flying into the air and away from my face.

"Alright, let me down"

"Why?"

"Because my tent is right there" Rosalie responded, wiggling herself out of my grasp and landing on the ground.

"Oh" I said, somewhat disappointed.

"Night" Rosalie said, giving me a small hug and a kiss on my cheek before walking to her tent.

"Night" I replied, pressing my hand to where her lips were seconds before. It felt tingly, almost as if her lips were still there. I don't know what it was, but it made me happy, almost giddy inside.

Let's just say that I walked back to the camp with a smile on my face, even without Rosalie being by my side.

**Author's Note: What did you guys think? Make sure to leave reviews! Please and thank you :)**


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